Writing about her bad back in a recent column (Comment, 25 April), Rebecca Front said: "I'm talking about that dull, mundane backache that millions of us get, and nobody really wants to hear about, much less read about ... "

Despite this, she continued: "And yes, I realise that begs the question: why am I sitting here with sciatica writing about it then?"

Of the dozens of people who posted comments about this piece online, one picked her up for misusing "begs the question" ("second para: use of 'begs the question' as not recommended by Guardian style guide and all other good people"). Another complained to the readers' editor: "If Rebecca Front really wants to describe herself as a writer she needs to be aware of the correct use of begging the question."

Actually, Front is in very good company with lots of writers, because of 32 mentions of "begging the question" in the Guardian and Observer in the last year, every single one used it in the same way: as an alternative to "raise the question".

Make that 33: by coincidence, I've just been handed a piece that reads: "Nick Clegg's ever-growing collection of ties rather begs the question: does he have a discount card for Tie Rack?"

I can't say I lie awake at night fretting about it, but the Guardian style guide advises: "begs the question is best avoided as it is almost invariably misused: it means assuming a proposition that, in reality, involves the conclusion ... What it does not mean is 'raises the question', and if you can substitute this phrase, it has been used wrongly."

So how is one supposed to use it correctly? The concept can be traced as far back as Aristotle, in the fourth century BC, but HW Fowler, whose entry on begging the question is listed under the Latin petitio principii (assumption of the basis), defines it as "the fallacy of founding a conclusion on a basis that as much needs to be proved as the conclusion itself", giving as an example "foxhunting is not cruel, since the fox enjoys the fun".

The Skeptic's Dictionary suggests this example of begging the question: "Abortion is the unjustified killing of a human being and as such is murder. Murder is illegal. So abortion should be illegal."

After more than 35 years in journalism I can recall precisely one occasion when "begs the question" was used to describe a logical fallacy, by the philosopher and sometime Guardian columnist Julian Baggini.

The dictionaries are giving up the battle: in addition to the traditional definition, Collins gives as alternatives "evade the issue" (I haven't seen that one much either) or "suggest that a question needs to be asked: the firm's success begs the question why aren't more companies doing the same?"

I imagine writers originally used "begs the question" to mean "raises the question" for variety, or in an attempt to sound clever. Now everyone does it, and nothing I say is going to change that fact. For me, this begs – I mean raises – the question of to what extent we should continue to fight for English usage that no one seems to actually use.

The counter argument is that, just because journalists can't be bothered to get something right, a term that might be useful – even, in a logical or philosophical context, essential – finds itself on the endangered list. When it dies, perhaps we are all a little impoverished.